Haiti is a "permanent observer" (since February 2012) of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), the regional group launched and led by Venezuela. At the February 2012 ALBA summit, "President Hugo Chávez and Haitian President Michel Martelly signed a framework agreement that aims to boost Venezuela’s role in Haitian agriculture, manufacturing and tourism, among other sectors."[1]

Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations with Haiti (along with a number of other Latin American countries) in 1963, applying Rómulo Betancourt's "Betancourt doctrine" of avoiding relationships with dictatorships due to the actions of Haitian President François Duvalier.[2]

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake Venezuela made substantial contributions to the humanitarian response to the earthquake, pledging $1.3bn in aid in addition to cancelling $395m in PetroCaribe debt.[4][5][6] Projects included the construction of three power plants, which provided a fifth of Haiti's electricity in December 2011.[4] In December 2011 Haitian President Michel Martelly said that "The cooperation with Venezuela is the most important in Haiti right now in terms of impact, direct impact."[4]